Climate
The Tampa Bay area has a humid subtropical climate (Koppen Cfa), with warm temperatures and the threat of thunderstorms during the summer and the winter frost at least once a year. However, large freezes only occur in the area about every 10–15 years, and the area shows some characteristics of a tropical monsoon climate. The area is listed by the USDA as being in hardiness zone 9, which is about the northern limit of where coconut palms and royal palms can be grown. Highs usually range between 65 and 95 °F (18 and 35 °C) year round. Surprisingly to some, Tampa's official high has never reached 100 °F (38 °C) - the all-time record high temperature is 99 °F (37 °C). St. Petersburg's all-time record high is exactly 100 °F (38 °C).
Pinellas County lies on a peninsula between Tampa Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, and much of the city of Tampa lies on a smaller peninsula jutting out into Tampa Bay. This proximity to large bodies of water both moderates local temperatures and introduces large amounts of humidity into the atmosphere. In general, the communities farthest from the coast have more extreme temperature differences, both during a single day and throughout the seasons of the year.
| Climate data for Tampa, Florida (Tampa Int'l), 1981–2010 normals | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 86 (30) |
88 (31) |
91 (33) |
93 (34) |
98 (37) |
99 (37) |
98 (37) |
98 (37) |
96 (36) |
95 (35) |
90 (32) |
86 (30) |
99 (37) |
| Average high °F (°C) | 70.3 (21.3) |
72.8 (22.7) |
76.6 (24.8) |
81.3 (27.4) |
87.5 (30.8) |
90.0 (32.2) |
90.4 (32.4) |
90.5 (32.5) |
89.3 (31.8) |
84.6 (29.2) |
78.3 (25.7) |
72.4 (22.4) |
82.0 (27.8) |
| Average low °F (°C) | 50.8 (10.4) |
53.6 (12.0) |
57.5 (14.2) |
62.2 (16.8) |
68.9 (20.5) |
74.1 (23.4) |
75.2 (24.0) |
75.5 (24.2) |
73.7 (23.2) |
67.3 (19.6) |
59.6 (15.3) |
53.6 (12.0) |
64.3 (17.9) |
| Record low °F (°C) | 21 (−6) |
24 (−4) |
29 (−2) |
40 (4) |
49 (9) |
53 (12) |
63 (17) |
67 (19) |
57 (14) |
40 (4) |
23 (−5) |
18 (−8) |
18 (−8) |
| Rainfall inches (mm) | 2.23 (56.6) |
2.80 (71.1) |
3.03 (77) |
2.03 (51.6) |
2.10 (53.3) |
6.68 (169.7) |
7.06 (179.3) |
7.76 (197.1) |
6.29 (159.8) |
2.25 (57.2) |
1.55 (39.4) |
2.47 (62.7) |
46.25 (1,174.8) |
| Avg. rainy days (≥ 0.01 inch) | 6.8 | 6.6 | 6.6 | 4.9 | 5.5 | 12.7 | 15.9 | 16.0 | 12.2 | 6.5 | 5.1 | 5.8 | 104.6 |
| Percent possible sunshine | 65 | 66 | 71 | 75 | 75 | 67 | 62 | 62 | 62 | 66 | 64 | 61 | 66 |
| Source #1: NOAA, Average Percent Sunshine through 2009 | |||||||||||||
| Source #2: Weather Channel (extremes) | |||||||||||||
Read more about this topic: Tampa Bay Area
Famous quotes containing the word climate:
“There is much to be said against the climate on the coast of British Columbia and Alaska; yet, I believe that the scenery of one good day will compensate the tourists who will go there in increasing numbers.”
—Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945)
“The question of place and climate is most closely related to the question of nutrition. Nobody is free to live everywhere; and whoever has to solve great problems that challenge all his strength actually has a very restricted choice in this matter. The influence of climate on our metabolism, its retardation, its acceleration, goes so far that a mistaken choice of place and climate can not only estrange a man from his task but can actually keep it from him: he never gets to see it.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)